


Ex Bibliotheca Lucis

by lilium_elendir



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Books, Child!Gladio, Gen, Gladio Fluff Week, Library, Reading, smol!Gladio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilium_elendir/pseuds/lilium_elendir
Summary: When eight year old Gladio hides in the Grand Library to escape the wooden spoon of the head cook, little does he realize that he's about to meet a man who will change his life, and instill in him a love for reading.





	Ex Bibliotheca Lucis

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Neverending Story.

At the tender age of eight, Gladiolus Amicitia had certainly been in his fair share of trouble. Defending the Prince and his tutor from bullies; having a precocious curiosity. Both had found him with his ear tweaked, doing laps, writing lines, and even being spanked more times than he could count. The Shields of Lucis were held to high standards.

 

So, it was with little surprise when Gladio found himself running through the halls of the Citadel, trying to avoid the broad side of the head cook's wooden spoon. Gladio had been caught taste-testing the pies lining a stretch of counter by sticking his fingers in them. All ten of them. He had long legs for his age, but not long enough to completely outrun the woman.

 

Rounding a corner, Gladio smacked right into Noctis' tutor, Ignis, and sent the younger boy sprawling. The papers he was carrying looked like giant pieces of confetti as they flew into the air and came fluttering down to the ground.

 

"Astrals! Sorry, Iggy!" Gladio muttered as he hurried to his feet and helped the other boy up. Ignis didn't appear to be any worse for wear, other than looking suddenly out of sorts.

 

"Iggy?" The younger boy said, of all things, as he straightened his glasses with a single finger and a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

 

Gladio tried smoothing Ignis' vest and hair down before he stooped to gather up his papers. "I'm so sorry, but I gotta go." Shoving the papers back into Ignis' arms, the bespectacled boy still dazedly repeated 'Iggy' as though testing the way it rolled from his tongue.

 

Gladio looked around for where the small boy had come from. The large ornate wooden doors of the Citadel’s Grand Library leapt into view just as Gladio could hear the head cook approaching.

 

"Cover for me!" Gladio yelled behind him to Ignis as he pushed one of the heavy doors open and slipped inside. Gladio stood with his back leaning against the heavy door, suddenly out of breath and jittery from the adrenaline rush. That was close. Before he could completely catch his breath, a voice broke through the quiet, heavy hush of the room.

 

"Ignis my boy, did you--"

 

A thin reed of a man leaned over the counter to peer at Gladiolus from behind the massive mahogany counter. He had a pair of rectangular reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, and a moustache so bushy it almost covered his entire mouth. Gladio idly wondered how the man managed to eat when he spoke again, filtered through a thousand bristly grey hairs.

 

"You aren't Ignis," he said simply.

 

Gladio looked around, wondering if he'd made a terrible mistake. He wasn't a bookworm, he only read what was required for school. What if this man turned him over to the head cook without a second thought? Gladio shriveled slightly against the door under the man's scrutiny. Equally bushy eyebrows raised as if in question, and Gladio stuttered a respectable response.

 

"N-no, sir. I'm Gladiolus, Mr. Cor..." Gladio's voice trailed off as he struggled to pronounce the name on the engraved placard sitting on the counter.

 

The librarian's face softened into that of a wise old owl as he took in Gladio's flushed appearance, quick breaths, and the way he had hastened into the library.

 

"Ah, young Master Amicitia, I presume? I am not the Marshal; with whom I am sure you are quite familiar. I am Mister Coreander, and I look after the Grand Library," he said with a flourish of his arm.

 

Bright amber eyes, wide open and curious, followed the gesture. Gladio's jaw dropped as his gaze flicked around what he could see of the room. Plush carpets covered the floor, massive wooden bookshelves lined every wall from the floor to the vaulted ceiling nearly three stories above his head. Grand arched windows were all that broke up the rows of books. Stained glass was in every other window, depicting the great Kings of Lucis.

 

The librarian watched Gladio's reaction, a slow smile spreading across his face. Librum Coreander knew a young mind that begged to be expanded when he saw one. He stepped out from behind the counter and gestured for Gladio to follow him.

 

In addition to the floor to ceiling units, the center of the enormous room was also filled with towering shelves, all arranged neatly and categorized for ease of use. Dotting the area were thick tables capable of holding mounds of books, arm chairs, lamps, carts, and of course people of all ages.

 

"Tell me, young Master Amicitia, what kind of books do you like to read?" the librarian asked as they walked deeper into the library.

 

A steadying hand is all that kept Gladio from landing on his face, nearly tripping in surprise from the librarian's question. He didn't read for pleasure, and so he deflected rather than answer.

 

"I'm just Gladio, Mr. Coreander."

 

"How about M'Lord Shield then?"

 

"No, that's my Dad!"

 

"You still haven't answered my question then, Gladio."

 

Gladio's eyes drifted up to the great stained-glass windows, and he gave the most truthful answer that he could without embarrassing himself.

 

"I like stories about the rulers of yore," Gladio said nervously as he licked his lips, hoping the librarian wouldn't catch the truth in his words. He did like the stories. Stories told by word of mouth, not written on the pages of a book.

 

"Mmm," the librarian mused. He politely overlooked the young boy's half-truth. "This way, Gladio."

 

The young Shield-to-be dutifully followed the librarian, not wanting to give up his pretense that he had in fact just been seeking a good place to hide when he had stumbled into the library. They finally stopped at a bookshelf filled with old dusty tomes that had clearly not been looked at in a long time. Gladio doubted very much that he would find anything of interest on them.

 

Mr. Coreander turned to look over the tops of his rectangular spectacles, and down at Gladio. "And which of the great Kings of Lucis is your favorite?"

 

Gladio's face pinched in true contemplation, but he answered quickly and pressed his thumb into his chest with pride.

 

"Why, the Just of course. She carried a giant shield, just like I'm gonna one day."

 

The librarian gently lifted a very large volume from the polished wood and gripped it tightly in his hands. He held the book close to his chest where Gladio couldn't make out the cover. Slowly he lowered the book into Gladio's outstretched hands.

 

A soft gasp filled the air between the young boy and the older man. Bound in dark leather, gold lettering was embossed along the top and bottom of the cover, and in the center a metal cross was embedded. The cross was equal on all sides and looked more like the letter 'X'.

 

"The Justice of Knowledge..." Gladio whispered to himself, tracing the letters with his small fingertips.

 

"Gladio," the librarian intoned seriously, "can I trust you with this book?"

 

Amber eyes looked up suddenly, and a mop of dark brown hair nodded vigorously.

 

"Yes of course, Mr. Coreander sir!"

 

Next those same small fingertips travelled along the lines of the cross.

 

"Mr. Coreander, what is this on the cover?"

 

A knowing gleam was in the librarian's eye. "That my dear boy is the symbol engraved on the shield of the Just. An amulet of sorts. If I can trust you, and you choose to read this very old book, you will learn of its origin."

 

"Woooow..."

 

Gladio opened the book enough to peek at the pages and was immediately enamored by an illustration of the Just and her shield, but he could only get a glimpse as the book was too large for him to properly open without setting it down on something.

 

"Back to the front then, and we'll get you a library card made, and the book checked out in your name. Then I'll show you the perfect nook to read in here at the library..."

 

The multi-colored stained glass of the figure of the Just shone down on the empty place on the shelf that the Justice of Knowledge used to occupy. The warm glow travelled down the backs of the tall thin reed of a man, and the larger than average boy as their forms disappeared towards the front of the library, side by side.

 

Gladio clutched the large tome against his chest as though he were carrying a precious bundle, to which the librarian nodded approvingly.

 

"You have to be awfully strong to carry such a big book, don't you, Mr. Coreander?" Gladio asked, looking up briefly at the librarian with wide, innocent eyes.

 

"That you do, Gladio. That you do." He ruffled Gladio's hair, already harboring affection for the young boy. He knew most people would assume the next Shield of Lucis would be all might, just as he knew Gladio had meant strength of body. His response, however, was regarding the young boy's strength of mind, and character.

 


End file.
